YCCD Celebrates Earth Day 2021
Commentary from Chris Johnson, YCCD Managing Director:
Earth Day 2021 is one unlike any before. The United States is actively pursuing climate diplomacy abroad, and Republicans in the House are laying out a range of conservative solutions to address climate change, even after a year of pandemics and political division. These developments show clearly that the climate discourse has moved in a significant, positive direction in recent years. Long gone are the days of Republican climate ambivalence and discussion of the issue without considering global implications. But we must not grow complacent, and there is immense opportunity to take this momentum and create solutions that combine environmental protection with economic opportunity.
That is precisely why, on this Earth Day, Young Conservatives for Carbon Dividends is urging Republican legislators to embrace the free-market Carbon Dividends solution. We need a climate solution that will allow America to lead on climate and put American interests first. That solution must also leverage free markets and innovation to create both the prosperity and the environmental stewardship the weight of this moment demands. And perhaps most importantly, this momentum should lead us toward a bipartisan solution that will last, ensuring durable progress on the climate issue.
American Climate Leadership
Without both parties at the table, the Biden Administration’s Earth Day 2021 climate diplomatic efforts will continue to be dismissed by international leaders and heads of state. Recently, China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Yucheng called these efforts “not very realistic”, highlighting how political instability on the climate issue is a limitation for Climate Envoy John Kerry’s efforts to challenge other nations to reduce emissions. With Republicans as part of the domestic climate policy discussion, the U.S. can strengthen its hand abroad by delivering environmental solutions through durable, bipartisan legislation.
Young conservatives across the country are championing market-based climate solutions as the clear way forward to create innovation-based policies that effectively reduce emissions and create the kind of stability needed for climate diplomacy to be successful. On top of that, bringing Republicans into the debate will also raise solutions like a border carbon adjustment, which creates the exact mechanism needed to compel other nations to follow America’s lead on climate.
GOP Climate Action
It is also encouraging to see Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans laying out a range of conservative solutions to climate change in their Energy Innovation Agenda. From natural solutions for carbon sequestration to the expansion of nuclear power to investments in clean energy infrastructure, these are welcomed policy proposals from our party leaders. Most importantly, perhaps, is that these proposals are exactly the ideas you rarely hear from the environmental left and Democrats broadly. That is why conservative and Republican engagement on the climate debate is so vital.
This Earth Day, we are excited to reclaim the party’s legacy of environmental leadership exemplified by Republican presidents for generations, including figures like Teddy Roosevelt and George H.W. Bush. With the benefit of Republican leadership, America is well-positioned to set the standard in climate diplomacy as well. Happy Earth Day to all! 🇺🇸🌎
“We can and will give the American land to our children, not impaired, but enhanced. And in doing this, we’ll honor the great and loving God who gave us this land in the first place.”